Explanation:
This breathtaking patch of sky would be above you were you to stand at the
south pole of the Earth.
Just above and to the right of the photograph's centre are the four stars
that mark the boundaries of the famous
Southern Cross.
At the top of this constellation, also known as "The Crux,"
is the orange star
Gamma Crucis.
The band of stars, dust, and gas crossing the middle of the photograph is
part our
Milky Way Galaxy.
In the very centre of the photograph is
the dark Coal Sack Nebula, and the bright nebula on the far right is the
Eta Carina Nebula.
The southern cross is so famous a constellation that it is depicted on the
Australian National Flag.